Faction CIS | The Red War: Solem

[Ascendant Muse]

SOLEM
Rayter Sector, 0900

The Routine had gone Awry.

It is said that the Galaxy exists on a cycle. That the children of Light and Dark were fated to battle one another forever. That, as nations fell, new entities would rise to fill the void. Some would be admirable and bring about peace to their people. Others would be avaricious - seeking only to dominate and to uplift a select few. For a time, the Southwestern Systems were home to the former. An alliance of outer planets had formed, with the promise of protection and freedom within their borders. While their way was far from gilded, theirs was an earnest path. Corruption was battled. Oppression quelled. And peace reigned supreme. Due to this, their adversaries salivated for the moment of collapse.

And when it came - anarchy reigned.

The chaos was such that it threatened to spread into the borders of neighboring Confederacy. Emboldened pirates and slavers broadened their nets, daring to prey upon paths ever closer to their borders. This was a threat that the nation could not ignore. So began the Red War: a declaration against the chaos of the Western Systems. So it was that the nation's finest rose to the call. Though their military existed as millions upon millions of droids, there was a fighting force composed of living warriors. In the face of this chaos, they were mobilized and tasked with vanguard missions into the madness. At times, they engaged the boldest of pirates. At others, they struck at the heart of warlords.

Today, they were coming for one of their own.

In the line of duty, the CNS Direwolf gave one final transmission. The vessel, bearing a detatchment of DAUNTLESS Commandos, was investigating a station above Solem when tractor beams pulled them in. All scans said that the station was derelict - or at least not armed. Yet, the vessel was pulled in and their transmission cut off. That was the last that the DAUNTLESS heard from Tide Squad. Thus, their brothers and sisters were quick to answer their plight. DAUNTLESS had been dispatched with one mission: bring their comrades home. No madness. No pirates. Nothing would see them leave their own behind. It was at the dawn of a new day on Solem that the DAUNTLESS' vessel reverted into realspace.

This time, a cloak was raised. Engines slowed. Their approach was silent and deliberate. All scans showed that the station was quiet - a fact which often meant the enemy was hiding. Traditional docking would draw far too much attention - thus, boarding pods had been prepared for the occasion. In that present moment, the relative quiet aboard was broken by one of the pilots. "On final approach, three minutes out." The time had come to ready up and let fly.

Spoiler: TAG

Obediah Sharp
Titus Dorn
Asta Nikola
Frank Sterling
Subject 73 Red
Eldin Rake
Dreyn
Blair Vauss
Ezekiel Warrcik
Captain King
Alarha Vinese
Luna Terrik
Tiria Reinhart
Typhan Berrezz
Tyran Numeck
Jasmille Kavos
Jie Tarell
Tegan Farron
Subject 82 Snow
Udrid
Eva Winburn

 

[Titus Dorn]

R E A D Y​

TAG:

Spoiler

Obediah Sharp
Asta Nikola
Frank Sterling
Subject 73 Red
Eldin Rake
Dreyn
Blair Vauss
Ezekiel Warrcik
Captain King
Alarha Vinese
Luna Terrik
Tiria Reinhart
Typhan Berrezz
Tyran Numeck
Jasmille Kavos
Jie Tarell
Tegan Farron
Subject 82 Snow
Udrid
Eva Winburn

The had lost enough.

The latest generation of DAUNTLESS Commandos had been "affectionately" known as the scarred during training. This was not due to a particularly gruff appearance, mind. But rather, their motivations for entering the service were relatively identical. The assault on Ryloth by the Agents of Chaos had cost each of them dearly. Family. Friends. Homes. No one who put their name on the dotted line did so without bearing that painful cross. Titus, the First Sergeant of Venom Squad, was no different. In the final moments leading up to the departure from hyperspace, his mind wandered down two paths. The first was, of course, the mission. He had a plan of attack in mind for his Squad...and a backup...and a backup for the backup.

That was the expectation drilled into him at Camp Phoenix, after all.

The second? Thoughts of his comrades who had been stolen. Thoughts of how this was the literal cherry on top of the chit sundae that had been dealt to the scarred. Tide Squad was a sister formation to Venom: its members were trained in tthe same formations. Every last soldier bore that same cross. And now, they were lost. Enough was enough. They would make it right - they had to. It took the shudder of the vessel reverting into realspace for Titus to rise from his seat. His helm, formerly clutched between his palms, was promptly slid into place. A well-placed blink ordered the HUD to awaken. He ran over a routine check. All systems green. His rifle rested firmly on the magnetic strip on his back. Sidearms in their holsters. Ordnance on his belt. Everything was as it should be.

Everything would be as it should when they had their say.

"Venom Squad!" he began, speaking shortly after the pilot announced their ETA. "Remember the Brief. We're targeting the onboard systems first - expect hell the second our boots hit the ground. Remember each other. First In. Last Out." His dominant fist rattled against his chest with finality. That was their way, the DAUNTLESS way - First In, Last Out.

With only a few moments left on the clock before hitting the sweet spot, the time for readying up was upon the Squad. Every second was precious. Every moment would count.

​

 

[Frank Sterling]

god this itches
Frank mumbled to himself as he sat there lost to his own thoughts At what's going on in their mind wandering and going over as many possible outcomes to this op. Upon hearing that they were 3 minutes out Frank racked the FI-LWMMG before putting on and locking his gen 2 helmet in place with a slight hiss as it sealed. After being satisfied with his gear he began assisting others in checking their gear before they get off this ship.

It's strange to explain his weird sense of something bad awaits them ever since he lost his arm and a good portion of his body in his first tour of duty. It's almost like a six sense when it starts itching. Of course Frank would tell himself it's just nerves. but the op just screamed fubar waiting to happen.

taking a sidelong glance to venom squad and their bravado. shaking his head he turned to His squad lead opening up the squad coms. "Good luck down there and remember no heroics." Taking out his hand cannon he loaded it with some shatter rounds before holstering it again. Frank would Nod at the venom squad leader, "We make it out of here first rounds on me."

 

[Eldin Rake]

The Dauntless tech was leaps and bounds above what Eldin had used as a front line soldier but he was a quick learner. It hadn’t taken him very long to master the new wall running techniques the unit had been developing, this was going to be their first chance to try them outside of a training simulation though. The thruster packs that were supposed to help them pull off the new techniques still felt needlessly bulky, but that was always the case with first gen tech. It would be streamlined after a few people died to get the eggheads the data that allowed them to make it smaller.

Eldin wasn’t a small man by any means and all the new equipment only caused him to take up that much more space. He was loaded down with more ammo than he had ever carried as a infantry soldier, as well as all the extra gear that came with being one of two Assault Specialists on the squad. The sergeant stood up and grabbed the BAW-77 Tactical Blaster Rifle he had come to favor during his commando training and checked the power pack was fully charged before attaching it to the magnetic strip on the side of his back. On his hip he had an L-7 heavy blaster that would serve as his back up weapon.

The scarred was an appropriate name for his generation of commandos, Eldin bore plenty of mental and physical ones from the events on Ryloth having been a survivor of the attacks. He was forever going to be pained by his physical wounds and had required a numbing implant that shut down his pain receptors when they flared up. They were doing so right now as he moved around the boarding pod. Eldin had to fight to not show the pain on his face as he reached his hand up to the implant activator on the base of his neck. Cold relief shot down the right side of his body and Eldin rolled his neck and grabbed his helmet, grunting in frustration as he slipped it over his head and activated the HUD syncing up with the rest of Venom Squad.

 

[Asta Nikola]

TAG: Titus Dorn | Frank Sterling | Eldin Rake

GEAR: Sniper Rifle and rounds | Side-arm and rounds | Optics System | Armour | Various melee weapons and tools

Wrath.

That was something that the Scarred unleashed when wrong has been done. The scars ran deep within Asta and her comrades, rendering them relentless on various levels. She actually felt sorry for the bastards that dared attack their sister squad. There would be nothing left of them.

Asta pulled her rifle from her back and loaded some AP as well as EMP rounds. After returning the rifle to her back, she did the same with her side arm. She wanted to be ready when the chit hit the fan.

The pilot announced their ETA and her CO gave his final briefing. Asta was itching for some real action. The drills at Camp Phoenix were nice enough, but nothing beat the real thing. Sometimes you get tired of shooting disarmed bolts at droids. That and a droid doesn't have the mental capacity to go find a sharpshooter. She had lost count of the amount of times she had to go out and look for them or she'd fall asleep.

When Titus gave his iconic first in, last out line, Asta smirked.
"Gotcha boss." she said before putting on her helm. She was ready to send some foes to the abyss. Teach them not to mess with the Dauntless.

 

[Dreyn]

Location: Camp Phoenix, Scarif.
Tagging: Titus Dorn ~ Frank Sterling ~ Eldin Rake ~ Asta Nikola ~ Obediah Sharp

She double checked her equipment silently and swiftly, hands going over the fastenings then over the weapons. She had grown so familiar to the armor and the layout of her equipment that it didn't take more than a thought to reach out to them, her hands already knew where to go. All set and ready. The stark white eyes of the Arkanian did a quick survey of those around her. She was the newest member to the squad - to DAUNTLESS as a whole even. That did not stop her from feeling determined to see this mission through alongside her them.

Loss - it was inevitable. Everyone standing within this carrier knew that. Once again they were forced into the shoes of the witness, the ones still standing while the men and women of their sister squad were missing. It stung, even if she refused to show it. But today they could set things right. They would.

Dreyn listened carefully as Titus addressed the squad as they reached their destination. One last look at her teammates and she pulled her helmet into place, HUD coming to life. It had been relatively long since she had last gotten any real action. Saying she missed it was not precisely correct, but there was a certain something to it that made it worth it. Perhaps she simply wasn't destined for a calm and peaceful life. Perhaps, there was no peace if not among shrapnel, blaster bolts and slugs.

Indeed, they were to expect hell as soon as their boots touched ground. But their enemies were to expect them.

And she pitied them for it.

 

[Ezekiel Warrcik]

H E A L​

Objective: Down to Business
Time: 2200 Hours
Equipment: BAW-89 Blaster Carbine, BAW-57 Heavy Blaster Pistols, Knuckle Plate Vibro Blade (2), GLiS Emergency Medpac (Including Bacta spray, anesthetics, laser cauterizer, bandages, etc.),
Tags: | Titus Dorn | Frank Sterling | Eldin Rake | Asta Nikola |

"On final approach, three minutes out."

"Remember the Brief. We're targeting the onboard systems first - expect hell the second our boots hit the ground. Remember each other. First In. Last Out."

Three minutes. Time enough to go over the pack again. The medpac laid out in front of the hulking commando had been gone over time and time again throughout the journey, more than likely enough to make any of his comrads go nuts over hearing it. It mattered not. Everything had to be in order. Nothing out of place. Knowing where every piece of equipment was on his body would make the actions he took quicker than otherwise. No mental thought about where a hypo was or which way the cauterizer was pointed would exist. How quick one was could be the difference between life and death.

And Ezekial had already seen too much death lately. His comrades would not go through what he had. That was something he would make sure of.

“Bacta spray, bacta patches, anesthetics, cauterizer, bandages, gloves, tourniquet…” Yes, it was all there, as it had been the last three times had had checked it. There was no more time now, they were getting close. Silently, he packed the medpac up tightly, snapping it shut and slinging it over his shoulder to magnetically locked to his back. No matter how much running, jumping, or running, it wouldn’t move now.

The commandos attention turned to his carbine, slinging it over his shoulder and pulling a rag from his belt to give the weapon one more wipe over. The rag, originally what looked to be a clean white, was a dirty brown from years of use without a wash. Opir'cuti always got on him about washing the darned thing, but he never did, always laughing it off as his lucky rag.

How he wished she was still around to nag him.

They’d be landing soon, and after a final swipe across the barrel, he was ready to launch. Ezekiel stood, taller than most of his squadmates, and awaited the green lights to storm onto the derelict ship.

 

[Obediah Sharp]

Location: Dauntless Transport Ship
Tags: Titus Dorn Dreyn Asta Nikola Eldin Rake Frank Sterling

Dreg, Danos, Taar'ak, Ravaje, Perentis, Graan, Lorma.

Seven individual military ID tags hung freely from Master Sergeant Sharp's neck as he sorted through them methodically. Sergeant Tag. That was the nickname that came with the tags that hung from his neck at every waking moment. After he'd returned from the front, most took to calling him Tag sooner or later. He didn't mind it, he didn't care. He sorted through the ID tags one final time, his finger brushing over each one before he secured them beneath his blast vest. With a soft hiss the vest sealed to his chest and the metallic neck guard extended up, latching to his helmet.

"First in. Last out." He chimed in to his First Sergeant's command. Time for prep was long gone, there was work to be done.

When he'd been assigned to Venom Squad as the Secondary Commander and Team leader he took the position with a grain of salt. Still, he took his command seriously. It was one thing to be a member of Dauntless and it was another entirely to lead these soldiers.

Standing in the center of the bay, Sharp directed his hands towards the pods while speaking directions to all members of the squad.

"This rodeo isn't new. Make sure your chit is secure and your asses are locked in. Double check your safety straps and get your HUD's synced to the squad link. Wait for First Sergeant's mark before launch. As soon as we touch down, sign in through the comm and double check your HUD's." Once Sharp had said his piece, he nodded towards Titus Dorn . He made his way over to his pod, resting into the seat and starting to secure himself in. Almost immediately he went into the routine of prepping the pod for launch. He hooked his comm and reached out to shut the door before exhaling. "Let's find these guys..." He muttered to himself.

 

[Blair Vauss]

Tags: | Titus Dorn | Eldin Rake | Frank Sterling | Asta Nikola | Dreyn | Ezekiel Warrcik | Obediah Sharp |

----------------

The scarred. Strange how so many people could be scarred in such similar ways. Physical scars, mental scars, emotional scars...So many ways to be marred and yet each and every member of the Venom squad had at least similarly ravaged pasts. The same sorts of incidents that brought them all to focus, to turn them around, to bring them together. The pains of the past were felt and dealt with differently, but this squad scarred the same. It bonded them.

This was no different for Blair. While the others stood or sat about checking their gear, Blair sat quietly out of the way. Her eyes were closed and within both ears were nearly invisible devices which were delivering a playlist of all of her favorite songs. Her head bobbed a little, her fingers tapped against her thighs, but she made no sound to sing or even hum along. No, if she got that deeply into the tunes, she would no longer be paying attention, and anyone who knew her well - as those around her should have by now - she was merely keeping calm. The music was soothing, but it by no means meant that she was merely brushing off what was going on around her. The possibility of more lives being lost had infuriated her to a point of blind rage; music was the cure to that.

But the tunes in her ears were not loud enough to deafen her entirely to those around her. So when their ETA was announced, Blair's eyes came open and she gave a singular look around at the others. The pieces within her ears were then reached for and removed before being tucked away safely in a case within the medpack at her feet. While she had the moment, her supplies were gone through just once more, making sure everything that could possibly be needed was present, and once sure of the fact, Blair stood and swung the pack around to the magnetic strip on her back. From there she ran a hand against the holster at her hip, making sure the blaster she had placed there was still present.

With everything seemingly in order, Blair sighed out heavily through her nose and then slid her helmet into place onto her head. She blinked slowly to activate the HUD, took a moment to make sure everything was working properly, and then shift her focus to the others as they spoke up. Little more than an affirming noise was made from her, but she made her way to a pod so that she could get herself seated within and then start to get strapped in. "Time to bring them home." A sentence, a full one even. But then she was quiet again and awaiting further instructions.

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Tags: Titus Dorn Blair Vauss Eldin Rake Frank Sterling Asta Nikola Dreyn Ezekiel Warrcik Obediah Sharp

Red leaned against the wall of the ship, cleaning one of his tactical knives, his helmet already on. This wasn't the first time he'd had to use boarding pods, but it certainly wouldn't be the last time. Then again, he had been trained since birth for this sort of stuff, so it wouldn't mind him as much as some of the other members on the squad.

He looked around at his new squad. Venom Squad... They were certainly different from Alpha Squad. Red had been transferred from Alpha to this squad, as it was apparently deemed necessary for some veterans to balance out the new people. Some of the members on this squad had only signed up recently, either after Ryloth or before. Whatever the case, Red would do his job, and he was certain they would do theirs.

Then the call came out, three minutes to go. Red sheathed his knifed. The First Sergeant spoke up, telling them to ready up and to remind them of the standard stuff, which of course Red listened to intently. Despite being a veteran, one could never forget their objectives. Then the Master Sergeant spoke up, motioning them to their pods. He connected his HUD to the squad link, and watched as he saw the other members of his squad pop up on his HUD.

Red nodded and pushed himself off of the wall and towards a boarding pod. He passed the other Assault Specialist on his way Eldin Rake . Red clasped him on the shoulder as he passed by. "Ready Rake? Dauntless might be first in, but Assault is always the first of the Dauntless." Red told him as he continued past the man towards his pod.

He climbed into one of the pods, and strapped himself in. After strapping himself in, he make sure his gear was secure. He then reached out and secured the door, shutting it from the rest of the ship.

"Let's hope they're still alive..." Red said to himself. He was realistic, and chances were Tide Squad was dead. But that didn't mean Red thought they were dead. He was of course hoping that they were alive, but he would concentrate on his job now.

And his job as assault was to eliminate the enemy.

 

[Titus Dorn]

B R E A C H​

TAG:

Spoiler

Obediah Sharp
Asta Nikola
Frank Sterling
Subject 73 Red
Eldin Rake
Dreyn
Blair Vauss
Ezekiel Warrcik
Captain King
Alarha Vinese
Luna Terrik
Tiria Reinhart
Typhan Berrezz
Tyran Numeck
Jasmille Kavos
Jie Tarell
Tegan Farron
Subject 82 Snow
Udrid
Eva Winburn

The sounds of final preparations filled the cabin.

Rifled were racked and readied. Helms were slipped into place, with the hiss of oxygen tanks kicking into gear. The hum of systems being brought online and the chime of HUDs linking - all was a symphony with a single constant. DAUNTLESS had come to fight. In the case of Titus, once he had addressed his squad, affirmations were given all around. Corporal Sterling offered to buy the first round after the mission had concluded - and the Commando was certainly going to hold him to it. Sergeant Sharp echoed his own sentiments, giving specific orders to link up the HUDs. When it was all said and done, the pilot made a call from the front of the vessel. "We're one minute out."

"Let's load up!" came Titus' call. He lead the way to the pods, each was capable of holding a single commando and had plenty of elbow room. The Commando wasted no time in stepping inside one and strapping in. Then, as the door slid closed before his eyes, he gave a nod to the team. His fist raised and slammed into the crimson button situated on the adjacent wall. Hiss. Shudder. Motion. The pod was swiftly ejected into the black of space. High-boost engines ferried the Commando across the gap - and for a few precious seconds there was silence. Then. Impact. Between his armor and the strength of the pod, Titus' form was simply justled about by the collision. Yet no damage to his person was done.

The station, on the other hand, now found that a pod had impaled its hull.

Once within, the door slid open once again. Titus expected there to be klaxons blaring about a breach, or at the very least for there to be an immediate response. Yet, he was able to eject from his restraints and leap onto his feet with no incident. He disembarked the pod...and found only darkness. Unease wormed into his stomach. His HUD responded right away, illuminating the tac-lights mounted on either side of his visor. Artificial gravity was still operational, but there was clearly a lack of power in this section of the station. Titus kept his rifle at the lowered to a knee, his eyes ordering multiple sensor pings from his HUD. Nothing. No lifeforms. No heat. No motion. Nothing. This did not match the intel at all.

As the pods of his Squad began to slam into place nearby, Titus spoke over their secure channel. "All's dark over here." he began. "Pilot, get me a full lifeform scan of our vicinity. Squad, on me."

It wouldn't take long for Venom to join the First Sergeant. By the time each had disembarked and taken up positions adjacent to Titus, the pilot's results had come back. "Sir, scans are dark on your location. I am picking up tons of thermal activity on the floor above you." Maybe they were all huddled upstairs? Good to know. Titus parted his lips, intent on making orders to take the lift that was at the end of the corridor. He never got the chance. A cacophony of metal shrieking and breaking erupted from over their heads, followed by the ceiling literally collapsing. "HIT THE DECK!" Piece by piece, the ceiling fell down, threatening to pin them each under the wreckage.

As the pieces continued to fall, the culprits made themselves known.

They were not pirates. They were not Human.

And they were Coming.

​

 

[Eldin Rake]

Eldin grinned at Subject 73 Red through his helmet, the other sergeant was the senior assault specialist that Eldin had been paired with after finishing up the training and being assigned to Venom Squad. “As ready as I’ll ever be, Red.” He said as he watched the other walk across the bay to a pod before climbing into his own. As spacious as they were there still wasn’t a whole lot of room for to move around inside of the roughly tear-shaped vehicle. The price for being a big man with bigger guns sadly.

Eldin would be one of the few at the front of the line making entry into hostile spaces and he found himself wondering if this new armor was up to snuff. It certainly felt heavy enough to stop some pretty large ordnance. Once the hatch was shut and he was sealed in all he could do was watch the drop timer click down on the panel in front of him. This was his first real drop and he doubted it would be anything like what the simulators had created, there was really only one true way to recreate dropping into a planet’s atmosphere from high orbit. As far as first jumps go this was a pretty unique one, they weren’t aiming for Solem but rather the station above it, and again his mind went to whether or not the lowest bidder had done a good enough job on constructing his pod.

The go light turned red and then there was a moment of weightlessness as the pod dropped. It was quieter than Eldin had expected it to be at least until the space station rose up in his lone viewport and his pod smashed through the surface and embedded itself within the structure after one hard bounce. Eldin jerked in his restrains inside the pod upon impact but he didn’t feel a thing. He hit the release on his chest restraints and the hatch to his pod popped open and Eldin fell out of his pod as it had landed upside down.

The assault specialist got to his feet and gave his head a quick shake as his visor kicked on and illuminated the dark interior of the station. Right away he knew something was off already but orders to regroup were coming in over the squad comms so he quickly grabbed his gear and checked the status of his rifle and linked up with the First Sergeant and the rest of his squad. It took a couple minutes for everyone to gather. While Eldin waited for new orders he thought he heard some kind of metallic noise above him and glanced upwards but saw nothing an chalked the noises up to radio interference caused by whatever had shutdown comms on the station. That was when the ceiling caved in around them and all hell broke loose.

A large chunk of durasteel plating came falling down almost directly on top of him but he used a quick burst from his jump pack to push him out of the way only to be slammed by a smaller piece that knocked him to the ground. Instinct and training kicked in and Eldin rolled and managed to get back to his feet and only then saw what had caused the cave in. Eldin had seen his fair share of aliens in his military career but he had never seen anything like these. Whatever they were, they were a threat and he engaged them, moving backwards away from the hole they had made in the ceiling above and any further debris falling from it.

 

[Frank Sterling]

The Banter between the squad continued as Frank get himself into his pod. Shaken his head frank slimed from under his helmet as the reminded him of his old unit willing to dive into hell and crack jokes the entire way. As they all began making their way down Frank would chime in. "A heavys job isn't to drop into hell with his squad, it's to make sure it's filled when we arrive," Frank said over coms as he made his way across the gap.

Upon arrival, Frank took his LMMG off his back Holding it at the low ready as the squad was told regroup on the squad leader. Taking up the rear of the squad Frank followed the squad into the godforsaken darkness that was birthed by the ship. However thankful that the Gravity still worked still shit didn't look good. As The ceiling began to creak and buckle before giving way to the ambush of Alien creatures a piece of durasteel threatened to fall on Frank who using the powered gen 2 armor and his robotic arm swatted the falling metal from himself with a loud clang, "Nuckle up! contact High!" Frank yelled out to the squad more or less directed at anyone still able to fight back during the ambush.

hoisting his weapon up to his shoulder frank dropped to his knee before locking his robotic arm and using it as a platform for his Weapon as he aimed up and pulled the trigger, The primal roar of his weapon as it began spewing slugs downrange to suppress maim and kill any creatures stupid enough to move in on their position "Orders Sir?" Frank said letting up every 10-second burst. We cant Stay in this area they set the killing floor and staying would most likely earn us the same fate as whatever happened to alpha. But for now, Franks top Priority was giving his squadmates some much-needed covering fire.

 

[Ezekiel Warrcik]

H E A L​

Objective: Down to Business
Time: 2200 Hours
Equipment: BAW-89 Blaster Carbine, BAW-57 Heavy Blaster Pistols, Knuckle Plate Vibro Blade (2), GLiS Emergency Medpac (Including Bacta spray, anesthetics, laser cauterizer, bandages, etc.),
Tags: | Titus Dorn | Frank Sterling | Eldin Rake | Asta Nikola | Blair Vauss | Dreyn | Obediah Sharp | Subject 73 Red |

There was something…off-putting by being in a new squad. There was too much optimism, too much unknown of what they were about to step into. They didn’t know how to work with each other, how to joke, and what made each and every one of their brothers and sisters tick. That would lead to thought on the battlefield. Thought led to slowness, and slowness…slowness begot the pain and death that would soon follow. These were the thoughts that silently went through his mind hearing the newbies speak to each other, at least until the man that he only knew as sharp mutter his final words. Ezekiel approached the man, giving him a slight nod as both headed toward the pods. “I believe we both know that they’re not. Still..always a chance.” A grim thought, maybe, but one did not involve themselves in this business for very long without becoming a realist of situations.

Perhaps the pods were large enough for anyone else, but Ezekiel found himself taking an extra moment to squeeze into the space. Still enough to move slightly, but more of a squeeze than might have originally thought. A tight squeeze was better than a loose one, at least that’s what he told himself as the pod bay door closed. The immediately feeling of weightlessness was quickly contrasted the moment the pod shot through the space only to crash hard into the ceiling of the station.

The quietness of the hallways was practically deafening. There was nothing. No ambience that would typically be heard in a place like this. No electronic whirring, no light buzzings, nothing outside of the sounds that the commandos made themselves. “There is something wrong here. This silence is..unnatural.” It was only moments later that they found the very station falling apart around them, and found that they had been born into a very real waking nightmare.

Ezekiel was missed by the first barrage of ceiling falling, instead being met straight in the face by something that could only be described as an absolute monstrosity. It was no longer human, alien, anything. The only thing that this thing was, was a travesty on everything that did live in this sometimes beautiful galaxy, and he wasted no time on putting the thing down. A couple of well placed bolts in the thing’s skull seemed to do the job…at least for the moment. The monster continued to twitch on the floor, so whether or not it was truly dead was something he couldn’t check.

He could hear the rest of his team having to deal with these things as well, and before placing a few more bolts upward into the ceiling where he could hear more of them rolling around, he made his own opinion known. “These things aren’t going down easily. We need to pull back, somewhere we can get power back on, or at least somewhere we can seal up and figure out plan.” Ezekiel might not have been the highest ranked here, but from his experience in the battles of old, he knew a losing situation when he saw one. And them standing out in the middle of this hallway allowing these things to keep coming would end up with them all dead before too much longer. Especially if they could reliably put the monsters coming for them down.

 

[Dreyn]

Location: Camp Phoenix, Scarif.
Tagging: Titus Dorn ~ Frank Sterling ~ Eldin Rake ~ Asta Nikola ~ Obediah Sharp ~ Ezekiel Warrcik ~ Subject 73 Red ~ Blair Vauss

Warming up to people was something she found hard to do. First she had led a life that by all practical means, was lonely. A slave, more of an object than a person, spared little attention by others and herself sparing little attention to anyone but the one that controlled the loyalty chip that had been lodged into her skull. Then, after being freed, she had a family, and then, that family was taken away. Like it had been for many of those who stood besides her during training, and those who she now called her squadmates.

Still, listening to their banter and watching them ready themselves seemed to put a small smile on the Arkanian's usually impartial face. Her white gaze, hidden behind the helmet, lingered on the Master Sergeant for a moment - watching how he went about his ritual, before allowing the famous tags that had earned him his nickname rest once more to then be covered by his armor. Tag had been the first person in the squad she had met, and while she was intrigued to know, she had never asked about the tags.

"See you all on the ground," she muttered, before walking towards one of the pods and strapping herself in. Unlike the male members of the squad, she did not have a striking stature to make use of and that meant that not strapping herself correctly could earn her a good rattling. Her HUD was synced to the squad's comm frequency, and then, as the pilot called last minute, she breathed in. The fact that one was used to something did not mean they had to like it. And she had always hated the drop.

Like the rest of them, Dreyn did quick work of leaving the pod - rifle at the ready and zoning in on the position of her squadmates, heeding Titus command and moving in to follow him. Her main weapon was easy to tell apart, the underbarrel microgrenade launcher a personal addition that was hard to miss. For someone with a calm and collected personality, the woman surely did like her explosives.

Her infrared vision made sorting through the darkness easier, but not any less ominous. Everything was still - too still. And it would not be long before the hell that Titus had promised broke loose. The creaking of the ceiling immediately got her attention, and when it started coming apart it was a matter of seconds before she pressed her step into a sprint to move out of the way and raise her rifle towards the snarling she had heard behind her. Those were some ugly motherkarkers - whatever they were. But this was not the moment to ask questions.

She opened cover fire near Eldin Rake 's position, making sure none of the creatures made it close enough to him as he swiftly recovered from the hit. Once he was back on the clear, her eyes immediately scanned the gruesome scene before her - but not to focus on the creatures. She wanted to make sure the group hadn't been cut off by the falling debris. A separated group seemed like the worst possible scenario right now.

 

[Obediah Sharp]

Tags: Titus Dorn Ezekiel Warrcik Frank Sterling Subject 73 Red Dreyn Eldin Rake Blair Vauss
​

The moment before a launch was a daunting moment to be sure. Sharp hated it. The sound of the pod's access port slamming shut, the various locks clicking as the launch preparation went through, even the subtle hiss as the interior airlock was secured. They all worked his nerves, making him subtly clench his hand into a fist, releasing for a few seconds before clenching again. He fething hated it all.

His mind lingered just a bit on the words spoken by Corporal Ezekiel Warrcik . He knew they may not find the Dauntless soldiers alive. That was already something that was not likely to occur. No, he just wanted the bodies. It was the final piece of death that brought those precious loved ones some peace, and it made it real. Tell a man his son was killed in action, he'll deny it to his final days. Show the same man a body and only then can he realize the truth behind his new reality.

He was shook out of his inner mind when he felt the uneven rock of his pod's thrusters. He slapped the safety harness over his chest as the thrusters fired. He found some peace in the rumbling of the engine. It was a brief peace.

A violent rock occured and he closed his eyes in the event that something went wrong with their landing. All it took was a pod firing into a power circuit or auxiliary engine and suddenly that pod becomes a coffin. A half second passed and he opened his eyes, everything steady. The door to his pod opened and the Dauntless Commando sighed a breath of relief before stepping out into the bay they'd landed in. Practiced eyes scanned the interior, the HUD illuminating to shine brightly over the members of Venom Squad. Stepping out he saw the power to the ship seemed to be working in a reserve state.

Sharp kept his scattershot down at a low ready before glancing over to where Dorn stood. He moved towards the First Sergeant but his approach was cut short when there was a loud creaking of metal that came from above them. He'd watched the area over Dorn collapse first and he cursed, stepping back as a stray cut of metal fell down, slamming into his shoulder.

Thrown back by the impact, Sharp quickly corrected himself to see the creatures that were moving throughout the breach in the ceiling.

Things never got easier, did they?

Leveling his scattershot towards that gap in the ceiling, Sharp let out a single discharge. The projectile slugs ripped through skin and flesh, causing one of the creatures to fall to the ground with a hard slam. No sooner than the beast slammed into the metal floor did it begin to stir and moan out. "Fething abominations." Sharp remarked, stepping forward and racking his scattershot before bringing the barrel down to the head of the creature. With another powerful discharge the beast's face exploded into a creamy mess of gore. Racking the scattershot once again and stepping back, Sharp listened to what Ezekiel Warrcik had to say.

He spoke out, looking over to Dorn for a spare moment.

"He's right. We need to fall back to a defendible position, Top." He told the man.

 

[Saram Kote]

AKALENEDAT​

Tag(s): Titus Dorn | Ezekiel Warrcik | Frank Sterling | Subject 73 Red | Dreyn | Eldin Rake | Blair Vauss | Aselia Verd​

​

Spoiler: Equipment

• Armor:
  • 'Vuhyr'yalilyr'gam'
  • 'Ysalamiri Birikad' Nutrient Frame
    • Vambrace Weapons:
      • TBP-01V Tractor-Pressor Beam Projector
      • PC-05V Plasma Caster
        • Plasma Gas Medium Cannister (1)
      • MML-01V Miniaturized Missile Launcher
        • Electro Darts (4)
        • Explosive Darts (4)
        • Surveillance Tagger Darts (4)
      • NML-02VTB Nano missile Launcher
• Implant(s):
  • 'Rammikad' Enhancement Package
• Melee:
  • B-01M Beskad
  • K-02M Kal (2)
• Sidearm(s)
  • LRH-5A Verpine Shatter Pistol w/ 'Kyrayc Sur'haai' 1-4x Short Range Optic
• Rifle(s):
  • AR-2CQB Verpine Assault Rifle w/ 'Kyrayc Sur'haai' 1-12x Medium Range Optic and UGL-02 Underbarrel Grenade Launcher
  • BR-6B Verpine Shatter Battle Rifle w/ 'Kyrayc Sur'haai' 1-100x Long Range Optic
• Explosives:
  • Det-Packs (2)
  • Flex-5 Detonite Tape (1 roll)
  • Smoke Grenades (3)
  • Flash-Bang Grenades (3)
  • Concussion Grenade (2)
  • NOVA40 Plasma Grenade (2)

​

​

The job had been simple enough. It was always the simple ones, though, that went to haran before they'd really started. Nothing ever was truly simple. That was one of galaxy's harshest truths that she'd come across many a time in her career. Saram stayed behind the Dauntless commandos, where she'd been when the attack hit, her optical camouflage systems still engaged. She let off quick, but accurate two-round bursts with her BR-6B. The virtually noiseless Verp weapon made no noise and no flash, her optical camouflage had no struggle with keeping up.​

​

The heavy rounds had no problems with tearing through the distended bodies of...whatever the haran it was they were fighting. Saram hadn't come here to directly assist the Dauntless commandos with fighting. Her job, and that of her companion ( Aselia Verd ) was to observe and evaluate. It was supposed to be a routine job, which was the reason she hadn't brought the rest of Davaab along. If she had to have anyone else watch her back, Aselia was by no means low on the list of those she'd choose from.​

​

As for what they were supposed to observe and evaluate, the supposedly routine job was a perfect environment to assess whether any of the Dauntless commandos' bodies were rejecting their implants. Saram was by no means a medical professional, her limited talents in the medical field extended to battlefield first aid. That said, she'd gone through the acclimatization process before herself, and the implants that the Dauntless used were virtually the same was the one she had in her.​

​

"We've really landed in the osik this time, eh vod?" she asked Aselia over their shared comms frequency, not expecting an answer at this moment, but definitely having a good idea of just how her fellow Mandalorian felt on the matter. Her weapon ran dry now. Dauntless had the situation well in hand, but Obediah Sharp was right, a better defensive position was the order of the moment. She quickly changed magazines, her camouflage blurring and shimmering ever so slightly with the sudden movement, and then returned to the grim task at hand.​

 

[Subject 73 Red]

Tags: Titus Dorn Blair Vauss Eldin Rake Frank Sterling Asta Nikola Dreyn Ezekiel Warrcik Obediah Sharp Saram Kote

Red saw the First Sergeant nod to the team once they were all situated in the pods. Red gave a thumbs up. "Time to drop, shock, and rock people." He said out loud. He hit the release button for his pod.

And nothing happened...

Red pressed it again. Once again, nothing happened. Red looked down at the button. This wasn't good. He could hear the other pods already launching, and Red needed to launch now, or else he might miss the target. He pulled the emergency release lever, and then hit the button.

Finally, his pod launched off from the ship, still barely on target, and far behind the others. He watched as their pods hit the station. He was going to enter from a completely different part of the station than them, so they would be separated, with Red being on his own. He watched the station come closer and closer...

Then suddenly his pod collided with the station, slamming through the hull, but managing to get wedged between the hull. Well, at least then the inside of the station wouldn't be exposed to the vacuum of space.

Red released himself from the harness, and hit a button on the side. The bottom of the pod opened up, and Red jumped out, pulling into a roll once he hit the station floor. Coming up in a ready stance, he looked around. The station was completely dark, but gravity was still on. Odd. A breaker might have gone out, or perhaps the power to the lights was shut off. He pulled out his blaster carbine, and hit a button on the side of his helmet. Instead of a tac light, his HUD switched over to Night Vision, allowing him to see through the darkness without a tac light giving away his position.

He raised his comms. "This is Red. I've made it to the station, but my pod malfunctioned, so I got separated from the rest of the squaf. I'm in Section Bravo, subsection B-34-G." He told them. "Are lights out in your section? My section is pitch black."

Then, suddenly, a loud clanging noise came from further down the hall. Red fell to one knee, aiming down the hall. "I've got movement." He murmured into his comms.

Then the monsters came.

They came rushing out of the darkness, at Red. There must have been five of them, alone. Red opened fire on them, the blaster bolts taking down at least three, but the other two got to close, Red threw his rifle aside and pulled out his vibroblade. Springing up, he sliced through one, and then stabbed the other in the back. The one he sliced to fell to the ground, suddenly missing a head. Red twisted his vibroblade, pulled it out, and stabbed the creature in the head. It fell to the ground, dead. He pulled his vibroblade out of the thing's head, and wiped the blood off on his armored arm. He put it back into the slot in his armor. Picking up his carbine, he put it back onto his back.

"I've got hostiles. Species... Unknown. They're definitely hideous, though." He said into his commlink.

Then, he heard more noises down the hallway. It sounded like there were a lot more of them. Red pulled out his lightsaber and activated it, the yellow glow illuminating the hallway. There, further down, there were a hell lot more of them.

"Oh chit." Red said to himself.

"Are you guys busy? Cause there's a lot of them over here!" He said into the commlink.

Of course this was gonna happen to him.

 

[Blair Vauss]

TAG: Titus Dorn | Eldin Rake | Frank Sterling | Asta Nikola | Dreyn | Ezekiel Warrcik | Obediah Sharp | Saram Kote |


There was no direct interaction with Blair, and admittedly that was perfectly alright with her. The conversation going off in her ear was more than enough for her to keep up with, though her focus was on the countdown for the launching of her pod. The others would hear nothing more than a slow, lengthy sigh from her end before she was set back into her seat from the release of her pod. As much as she wanted to close her eyes, turn her head, look away...she didn't. Her gaze remained forward, her body was braced, just waiting for that oncoming impact - and yet it still threw her against her restraints and caused her to grunt loudly in protest.

The noise of the impact was bad enough on it's own, muffled or not, but at least the armor protecting Blair's body kept her from really feeling the force of it all. The straps were undone from her harness and then the door for her pod was legitimately kicked open so that she could climb out. Once she was on her feet, she once again checked her equipment while the others began to fall into place.

The quiet that surrounded them was unsettling, the fact that there was nothing to be seen immediately, nothing to cause any of them to duck and dive for cover, just nothing. "I don't like this..." More words, though they weren't directed at any one person in general yet again. Though almost as soon as the words has left her mouth, all hell broke loose.

Blair personally had been off to the side enough to avoid the floor above from falling too close to her - at first. The pieces kept falling from above until it reached a point where she had to move, but... "Movement!" there was that voice again, though she was clearly not the only one who had taken notice, especially not once these...these things had decided to descend upon their numbers. Fire was opened and while her weapon was drawn, she didn't fire considering the others were unloading weapons already.

"Falling back to a vantage point is good," All of these words she had spoken she would reflect on and be frustrated with herself later, but it seemed appropriate to speak up and agree with finding a place of advantage away from the things that were already trying to kill them five minutes after they managed to even get aboard.

 

[Asta Nikola]

TAG: Titus Dorn | Ezekiel Warrcik | Frank Sterling | Subject 73 Red | Dreyn | Eldin Rake | Blair Vauss | Obediah Sharp | Saram Kote

GEAR: Sniper Rifle and rounds | Side-arm and rounds | Optics System | Armour | Various melee weapons and tools

It was time.

Everyone bundled into their respective pods with some chatter here and there. Asta slid into hers easily enough and strapped herself in before launch.

Her pod actually touched down without too much of a hitch and she jumped out, sidearm at the ready in case she had to shoot quickly. Everyone has landed one way or another and were regrouping around their First Sergeant. He then took point into the darkness.

Asta switched on her tac-lights and fell back to the rear of the group to be able to provide better cover fire. It was eerily quiet. It didn't feel right.
"Something is iffy." she said, scanning their surroundings.

When all haran broke loose and a part of the ceiling caved, Asta was quite a bit away from the worst of it. The horrors that she saw falling was something not even her nightmare's nightmares could come up with. Yet, she fell to one knee and brought her rifle to her shoulder, picking off abominations that got too close to her comrades.

When Warrick called out that they needed to find a defensible position, Asta agreed wholeheartedly. What the kark was going on, she did not know, but they needed a safe haven.